


Bilvy

by illbeyourbestkeptsecret



Category: Cobra Starship, The Academy Is...
Genre: Cobra Starship - Freeform, Crossdressing, Drag Queens, M/M, drag queen! bill, the academy is - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 19:46:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3301325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illbeyourbestkeptsecret/pseuds/illbeyourbestkeptsecret
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>William Beckett's friend, Lindsey, begs William to come with him and perform at a club in drag. The things that happen next aren't anything William would expect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bilvy

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, a few notes. First of all, this started as a headcanon Sin sent to me that I think they and someone else had. So yeah, shout out to both of them! I'm sorry I couldn't think of a better title. Secondly, I have no idea how realistic this is. But hey, it's a fanfiction. Thirdly, Gabe will be introduced in the next chapter. I started writing this and didn't even realise how long it was so I didn't want to make this chapter any longer. Fourthly (?) the pronouns will change from he to she a lot. Just be aware of that.

William Beckett sat at home, which was usual for him for a Saturday night. It was starting to become boring and almost frustrating, but even though he always told himself he’d do something for once, he always ended up lying on the sofa watching Netflix. He’d watched pretty much ever interesting show on there, so decided to take a gamble and watch one of the ‘recommended’. He picked the one which looked the weirdest but also most interesting, which happened to be a show called ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’. He already had gathered an indication of what it was about, but he was always open to checking out new things. He clicked ‘play’ on the first episode, curious. 

About two hours later, he’d watched two episodes and was incredibly engrossed. There was just something about the way the drag queens carried themselves that he found so fascinating. The amount of confidence they had was something he couldn’t even dream of having. He had an admiration for them, more for the fact he couldn’t help but wish he had the confidence they possessed. By the fifth episode, he was sat there with a bowl of popcorn and a bottle of soda next to him so he didn’t have to move. It was one of those times when he told himself ‘one more episode’ (which never ended up being the case) and when he looked at the time, he realised it was 10 o’clock. It wasn’t that late or really a bad time for being a Saturday, but due to the fact he had started watching the show at around 7, he couldn’t help but feel like he could have spent his evening a lot better.  
Just as the tiredness started to affect William, he heard a knock at the door. He frowned for a moment, but got up nonetheless. When he opened the door, he wasn’t all that surprised. He should’ve guessed it would be his best friend, Lindsey. She had a habit of turning up at the oddest times. William suspected she never actually slept due to this. Or that she was a vampire and only slept during the day, but she was too perky for that.

‘Hey.’ He said as he opened the door. ‘What do you want?’

‘That isn’t any way to treat your ever-loyal friend.’ Lindsey pouted, sauntering in and placing herself on the sofa. 

‘What are you watching?’ Lindsey asked, peering at the TV screen. William gulped. It wasn’t particularly embarrassing, but he didn’t know anyone else who watched it. And wasn’t it kind of weird? Or was he just too paranoid? 

‘O-oh. Nothing. I was just about to go to bed.’ William shrugged, blatantly lying as he looked down at the floor.

‘Aaactually, you’re coming with me.’ Lindsey got up; linking her arm to a confused William’s with a smile. 

‘What? What do you mean?’ 

‘Because… I may have promised my friend you’d perform at her new club?’ Lindsey mumbled, fumbling with her fingers.

‘You- you what?’ 

‘As a drag queen. You know, not a big deal, really.’  
‘Lindsey!’ William shouted, pushing his arm out of her grip. ‘No. Not happening.’ He sat back down on the sofa, crossing his arms and refusing to look at Lindsey. It was absurd. There was no way he could do it. He’d have probably considered performing, maybe, but in drag? He couldn’t even believe Lindsey had thought he would agree to this. Sure, he was known for pretty much agreeing to everything, but this was just… something else. Something William couldn’t even imagine doing. Something that William would probably never get the opportunity to do again. Something that would make William’s incredibly average life somewhat interesting. Hm…. Maybe it wasn’t a terrible idea.

‘I get paid, right?’ William asked, getting up again. He couldn’t help but peer at the TV. He’d become so fascinated with drag over the day. Maybe it’d be fun. It couldn’t hurt to try, right?

‘Yeah, of course!’ Lindsey smiled enthusiastically, rushing over to William. ‘I promise it’ll be an experience you’ll never forget.’

‘Yeah, I bet it will.’ William laughed nervously. ‘You owe me for this.’ Lindsey nodded, grabbing William.

‘Come on, let’s do your make-up!’ She smiled, and William just nodded. He couldn’t believe he’d agreed to this, but some twisted part of his mind told him it was a good idea. It’s not like it could be that bad, right? Wait, what do drag queens even do? Do they sing? Dance? Act? All of the above? Oh god, what on earth had he agreed to? He started to speak, to object, but Lindsey had already started to cake him in make-up. So he swallowed his feelings, and told myself it’d be okay. Of course it would. It’s not like he could die, or anything. Everything would be fine…  
*

It’s been an hour, and Lindsey is still picking clothes for William to wear. Sure, he appreciates the effort, and of course, he wants to look nice, but does it really have to take this long? And why is Lindsey complaining to him that he doesn’t own any dresses? Of course he doesn’t own any dresses. Even though he may have tried on some over his lifetime, but still, he didn’t own any.

‘This’ll have to do.’ Lindsey sighed, pulling out a Halloween costume that William had worn two years ago. He couldn’t even tell if it would fit. 

‘You know, we didn’t really think this through.’ William said, grabbing the garment out of Lindsey’s hands. The outfit was from when he dressed up as the Mad Hatter. Looking at it, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat disappointed. Lindsey had done a pretty decent job on the make-up, and the costume was the best they had, but he couldn’t help but think of the drag queens he’d seen and how effortlessly beautiful they were. Well, it required a lot of effort, but it seemed like they were just born flawless.  
William reluctantly pulled on the shirt and the blazer, looking over at Lindsey.

‘I look terrible.’

‘No, you don’t.’ Lindsey walked over to him, placing the bowtie around his collar. ‘You look great.’ She gave a fake smile, and William just shrugged, pulling on the trousers. This was going to go terribly. He knew it. 

‘Don’t I need a wig?’ He asked, staring at himself in the mirror. Although he wasn’t ultimately pleased with his transformation, he couldn’t deny that he looked pretty hot. If he was somebody else, he’d probably want to fuck himself. And that, if nothing else, was going to get him through the night.

‘Do you have one?’ Lindsey asked, sarcastically.

‘No…’

‘Then you don’t need one.’ She smiled, starting to part William’s hair. ‘You have nice hair anyways.’ She shrugged, continuing to part his hair and run her fingers through it.

‘Okay. We best get going.’ Lindsey gave William a reassuring smile as they walked down the stairs, hand in hand. It wasn’t a romantic thing at all, William just felt as if his heart was in his chest and that he was going to throw up if he wasn’t convinced someone was there and this wasn’t all a dream.

‘One last thing…’ Lindsey said as she pulled two shoes out of her bag, handing them to William. ‘You can’t be a drag queen and not wear heels.’  
William bit his lip, looking at the shoes nervously. There was an irrational thought in his head that they would attack him or bite him or… something. Looking at them made him nervous, never mind actually performing in them. He looked up at Lindsey, who smiled at him reassuringly.

‘Lindsey…’ William gulped. 

‘Just put them on. It’ll be fine!’  
Easy for you to say, William thought. You’re not the one doing this. But nevertheless, he placed the shoes on his feet anyways, holding on the railing as he stood up. 

‘Are you ready?’ Lindsey asked, and William’s throat became dry, so all he could do was nod. He’d never done anything like this before. He couldn’t help but wish he had gotten wasted beforehand, at least that would have taken the edge of a little. Oh god, what was he doing?

*

By the time they had gotten to the club, Lindsey had helped William during a panic attack, they had gotten lost about five times, and William had already fucked up his outfit by falling over. In short, it wasn’t going too well. They were both freezing cold and William had only started to take his frustration out on Lindsey, telling her she had ‘guilt-tripped him into it’. Which he knew was a lie, but he couldn’t help but say it anyways.  
They were silent as they entered, both feeling incredibly hostile to the other. Lindsey went off to go speak to her friend, leaving William sitting at the bar. After about ten minutes, Lindsey arrived back with a friend in tow.

‘Roxy, this is William.’ Lindsey smiled.

‘Hey.’ William held out his hand, and Roxy shook it with a firm grip.

‘Hey, William. Thank you so much for doing this. Lindsey told me that we could count on you.’ She smiled, and William nodded. 

‘You’ll be on in a half hour.’ Roxy looked between the two, and then nodded, walking off.

‘You okay?’ Lindsey asked.

‘I think so…’ William shrugged, although the bile rising in his throat was telling him differently. He had no idea how he was going to pull this off. 

‘Come on, let’s go backstage.’ Roxy grabbed William before he had a chance to protest, storming through the crowds of people. William hadn’t realised that there were this many people and he couldn’t help but feel even more nervous as his hands started to shake.

‘The first night of a club always means cheap entry and cheap drinks.’ Lindsey said, pulling William behind her.

‘There are so many people.’ William said, attempting to hide himself. 

‘You’ll be fine.’ Lindsey said with a smile, dragging William backstage. William stumbled, going over to the mirror. 

‘You did a really good job with the make-up.’ William turned around, flashing a grin at Lindsey. Whether or not he wanted to do this, it was happening, so he was going to have to deal with it. 

‘I know.’ Lindsey chuckled, walking over to William. ‘You know, you need a drag name.’ She said as she played with William’s hair.

‘Hm…’ William thought for a moment, looking at himself in the mirror for a while before deciding. ‘Bilvy.’ 

‘Bilvy?’ Lindsey frowned.

‘Yeah. William. Bill. Bilvy.’ William shrugged. ‘I like it.’

‘Well, that’s all that matters.’ Lindsey nodded, kissing the top of William’s head. ‘Thank you for doing this.’

‘It’s okay.’ William giggled. ‘Remember that one time you pretended to be my girlfriend? I think I owe you.’  
Lindsey chuckled, sitting beside William. ‘Oh god… I remember that.’

‘My parents actually fell for it.’ William laughed. Lindsey joined in, and for some reason, sitting there laughing for a few seconds eased the feeling in William’s stomach.

‘Wait, what the hell is my act?’ William asked.

‘I was figuring you could sing. They have guitars around here somewhere.’ Lindsey shrugged. ‘Roxy just needed someone to break the ice a little. I figured you’d be perfect.’

‘So I can basically do anything?’ William asked, more to himself than to Lindsey. He wasn’t just going to sit there and sing. He’d probably never get the opportunity to do this again and hell; he wanted to make it memorable. 

‘Yeah…’ Lindsey looked towards William. ‘What’re you thinking of?’ William just winked knowingly, getting up. 

‘Where are you going?’ 

‘I’ll be back in a minute!’ William yelled as he reached the door, leaving the room. Lindsey sighed. William’s idea was ever going to go terribly wrong or terribly right. She just hoped for his and Roxy’s sake it was the latter.

*

William found himself pacing back and forth, breathing in and out. He could hear Roxy outside, introducing herself to the club. He’d done everything he could to make sure his performance was unforgettable. He just hoped it would be memorable for the reasons he hoped for rather than anything else. He took in a final breath as he heard Roxy call his name, and stepped out on stage.

As soon as the music started to play, William completely forgot about all of the insecurities he had built up within him. He forgot about the neighbour near him who he’d had a crush on for god knows how long. He forgot about how much of a bitch the outfit was to move in. Nothing else mattered but the music and the way he moved with it.  
As the song ended, the room roared with applause and William felt like he was on cloud nine. He could see Lindsey is the corner, clapping so enthusiastically it looked like her hands might fall off. He bowed, stepping closer to the audience.

‘Hi everyone!’ William waved to the crowd. ‘My name’s Bilvy… and don’t you forget it.’ The crowd cheered again as the second song started, William’s own version of ‘Roxie’ from the musical ‘Chicago’. This was the one he really didn't want to fuck up.

William moved across the small stage, getting close to the audience who watched in awe. He replaced the ‘Roxie’ with ‘Bilvy’, giving a dramatic slip across the floor on his knees as he did. He was aware he wasn’t perfect and he did mess up a few times, but the adrenaline rush was enough to keep him strong. He slipped off the stage, starting to dance with some of the audience members. Money littered the stage as William made his way through the crowd, giving some of the audience members the mic a few times. He flirted with them, played with them, danced with them, and they loved it. They were eating out of the palm of his hands.

‘So what’s my name?’ William shouted out to the crowd.

‘Bilvy!’ They yelled back as William turned around, going back on stage. 

‘And don’t wear it out!’ William yelled as the drum beats filled the room, feeling so ecstatic that he couldn’t contain it. His heart was racing and he had already started to sweat, but he didn’t care. The rush he was feeling was something he couldn’t even explain.

‘So, welcome to the House of Roxy!’ William smiled, sitting on the side of the stage. His breathing was heavy as he looked out at all of the expectant faces, staring back at him.

‘Are you all having a good time?’ William asked, causing the crowd to cheer in response. William got up, kicking off his shoes as he did so.

‘I don’t know if any of you can tell, but this is my first time doing this.’ William looked out, pointing at Lindsey. ‘And this girl here, Lindsey, is the reason I’m here.’ William smiled as the audience cheered once more.

‘No, I’m serious. The bitch literally dragged me here.’ The audience chuckled. ‘I love her though. So, give it up for Lindsey!’ The crowd roared as Lindsey stepped forward, taking a bow. 

‘Now step back, this is my show!’ William nodded towards Lindsey, who did as she was told with a chuckle. William stepped back to the front of the stage as the next song, ‘I Don’t Care’ by Fall out Boy, started to play.

William clapped in time with the music, attempting to get the audience to clap with him. He danced around the stage a little more, giving everything. He knew he didn’t have the best dance moves, but all that mattered to him was that the audience were fucking loving it and so was he. William jumped down back into the audience, finding himself kissing a few of the audience members. He had no idea what was coming over him, but he almost didn’t care. The shy, nervous person he’d been before this was almost non-existent now.  
The music stopped, and William continued to talk to the audience. He told them a few stories, a few that made them laugh and a few that may have gotten some teary eyes in the audience. He spoke of his friends, his sex life, everything. Information that William would never consider telling a room full of strangers, but Bilvy was different. Bilvy was like an open book. Bilvy didn’t care if everyone knew that the first time she had sex she was so nervous she threw up. Bilvy didn’t care if everyone knew she wore her mom’s dresses as a child. Bilvy didn’t care about anything besides herself and the audience. They were all that mattered.

She performed one more song, then telling the audience that her time was up. The audience all sounded upset about this, which Bilvy couldn’t help but smile about. The fact that they cared so much about the fact she was leaving was astounding to her. Well, she was incredible. That she couldn’t deny. The note after note after note she picked up told her all she needed to know.

‘Oh my god!’ Lindsey squealed, running over to Bilvy and hugging her. ‘You were incredible!’

‘I know.’ Bilvy winked, squeezing Lindsey. She couldn’t explain how glad she was that Lindsey had talked her into this, but for now, she wanted to take all of the credit.

‘Where did that even come from?’ Lindsey asked, finally letting go off Bilvy.

‘The inner drag queen inside of me.’ Bilvy chuckled, kissing Lindsey’s cheek. Lindsey squealed, hugging Bilvy again. 

‘You really were amazing.’ Roxy smiled, appearing from the curtains. 

‘Thank you.’ Bilvy said. Lindsey parted from the hug as Roxy walked over, looking into Bilvy’s eyes.

‘Everyone fucking loved you.’ Roxy bit her lip, taking Bilvy’s hand. ‘You were made for that stage.’ Bilvy nodded as Roxy squeezed her hand, not really knowing how else to respond.

‘You have to come back here again. Please.’ Roxy pleaded, peering into Bilvy’s eyes.

‘You really want me to?’ Bilvy asked with a glint in her eyes. She knew she wanted to do this again. The rush she felt on that stage was one she was sure she wasn’t going to get again if she didn’t take this opportunity.

‘Of course. I’d be stupid not to.’ Roxy smiled, still holding onto Bilvy’s hand. ‘So what do you say?’ 

Bilvy nodded. ‘Totally.’ Roxy grinned, kissing her cheek and hugging her so hard she almost fell over into Lindsey.

‘Thank you, thank you!’ Roxy squealed, still squeezing Bilvy. Bilvy attempted to be polite and hold on, but after a while she found herself struggling to breathe, so parted from the hug.

‘I’ll text Lindsey when I next need you, okay?’ Roxy asked, and Bilvy nodded.

‘I’ll see you around, Bilvy.’ Roxy smiled, walking away.

‘I can’t believe this is real.’ Bilvy laughed, starting to take off her make-up at the mirror.

‘Well believe it, baby.’ Lindsey chuckled, joining Bilvy at the mirror. ‘They loved you.’

‘They did, didn’t they?’ Bilvy smiled. She had wanted to be modest but then thought fuck it; she knew that they had been eating from the palm of her hand and that they loved her. Their faces told her all she needed to know. 

As he pulled her make-up off, he saw the simple but still significant transformation from Bilvy to William right in front of his eyes. He stared at himself in the mirror for a while, wondering how someone like him had done what he just did. He sighed, grabbing his things and getting up. The tiredness had started to overtake him, and it was only then he remembered that he had to walk home. It was almost like he was on a drug and now he was coming down from his high to the sad reality of the world.

‘Let’s go.’ William said, interlinking his arm with Lindsey’s. He knew he’d be returning. This was just the beginning of Bilvy.


End file.
